Food for Thought by David Jackson

Waiting patiently (Psalm 40)

One of the most difficult lessons for me to learn is to have patience as I wait on an event or a decision to develop. It seems as though as soon as I think God has taught me patience, something happens that I become anxious about, waiting for a resolution, like waiting for a diagnosis from the doctor. Do you ever have that feeling?

Have you ever heard of Stephanie Kwoleck? Stephanie Kwolek finished college in 1946 and she became a chemist working for DuPont. While analyzing molecule chains at low temperatures, Kwolek found a specific formation of molecule chains that was exceptionally strong and stiff. 

The discovery was strange – it was cloudy and thin, unlike nylon polymers, that are clear and thick. "I think someone who wasn't thinking very much or just wasn't aware or took less interest in it, would have thrown [the solution] out," she reflected. She attempted to create a material as hard as steel, but lighter. For 10 years she ran experiments and failed to achieve any useable results; her fellow chemists had given up on the idea. 

An article on the internet says that the creation of Kevlar came about completely by accident in 1965. Kwolek created fibers from this solution that were surprisingly strong, in fact the strongest anyone had ever seen. It was plastic, but strong enough to stop bullets and knives. They described it as being "five times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis." 

A whole new industry came about from her creation of Kevlar. There are now more than 

two hundred uses for this amazing fabric. You might think first of bullet-proof vests, which have saved countless lives. I was surprised to learn that it is also used in boats, car brakes, and fiber optic cables. Patience has literally saved thousands of lives.

I wonder—is “I waited patiently for the Lord” one of the most difficult ideas in the Bible? We Americans are so accustomed to microwave ovens and pushbutton appliances, instant pudding and pre-prepped meals that we don’t want to wait for anything. “Time is money” and texts must be answered right away. So “I waited patiently” sounds like a real test of our limits. Much of our worry comes from the gap between thinking of something and getting it.

The Psalmist David says the Lord hears us when we ask him for something and then wait patiently for him to answer. Jesus taught us to ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7-11; Luke 11:9-13) with the expectation of receiving an answer from God. Remember, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:8, 32). 

If you respond to that by saying, “Then why should I pray, if God already knows it?” consider this. Prayer is not for the purpose of informing God, but to express our heart’s longings to the One who knows us best. It is much like a child pleading with a parent for what they truly desire. That means our prayers don’t need to be lengthy, or follow a special formula, or feel like a drudgery to perform. Just talk to him.

The result is clearly that God will respond to us in the best way possible. Paul’s statement in Romans 8:28 promises that God works in all things for good to those who love him. And we know that God is always at work. He knows what we need, and he gives it to us. 

My tendency is to try to tell God how to do it. But I have learned that God’s solution is always far better than anything I had thought of. Even when his answer is not plain right away. 

Remember that Jesus asked three times in the garden for the cup to be removed, and it wasn’t, because God’s way was better. “Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36) is the resolve of a trusting heart.

Paul asked three times for the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, and the answer was “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

So, the result of waiting patiently on the Lord is a beatitude in the middle of this psalm: “Blessed is the one who makes the Lord their trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare” (Psa. 40:4-5).